Fan film shows how Super Meat Boy feels, not how it looks

When I was younger I had a friend who very efficiently fell into his own navel with a monstrous drug problem. It was depressing to hang out at his impossibly dour apartment while he tried to keep up his end of the conversation; from his point of view his life was daisies and rainbows. He saw nothing but bright colors and felt nothing but good times. The difference between experiencing something first-hand and how that experience looks to an outside observer can be vast.

Trust me, this applies to video games, because that difference is what makes the following Super Meat Boy video so effective.

Super Meat Boy fan film

Super Meat Boy is a 2D game that looks retro, but uses color and level design to pull you in and never let you go. Sure, you die over and over, but the play itself is so addictive that it takes a very long time to grow frustrated, and there is nothing like the feeling you get from finally beating the level that has been giving you trouble. When you play, you go into a sort of trance-state, eyes glazed, staring at the screen as your meaty avatar is cut, stabbed, crushed, and destroyed over and over again.

There is a reason the game made it to so many Game of the Year lists: it may look simple, but it makes you feel like the star of an action film. Your senses grow sharp, your reflexes tighten, and your heart races. You may look like a zombie to the outside observer, but your brain is sending waves of pleasure and pain across your entire body. The video above shows you exactly how it feels to play one of my favorite games from the past year.